Life Technologies GlobalFiler Kit Receives Approval by the FBI

Ability to upload forensic samples to National DNA Index System using
the highly discriminating GlobalFiler DNA chemistry enables faster, more
powerful data comparisons to solve crimes in the U.S. and globally

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has granted
approval of the Life Technologies GlobalFiler
Kit for forensic laboratories that generate DNA profiles and upload
them to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database.

The agency’s decision was based on data submitted by the Alabama
Department of Forensic Sciences (ADFS), which validated the solution
that is designed to help solve serious crimes. It is the second DNA kit
by Thermo Fisher Scientific to be cleared in less than a year.

The GlobalFiler Kit and the previously approved GlobalFiler
Express Kit interrogate the broadest range of genetic data of any
chemistry on the market,resulting in faster and more powerful
comparisons of forensic samples to resolve crimes and help reduce the
growing sample backlog waiting to be tested. Both are the only solutions
that contain all the genetic markers recommended for inclusion by the
CODIS Core Loci Working Group, and 10 additional markers commonly used
in Europe to reduce the risk of chance matches while enabling more
effective data sharing among countries.

Managed by the National DNA Index System (NDIS), CODIS facilitates the
electronic comparison and exchange of DNA profiles between participating
local, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and forensic
laboratories. While approval of the GlobalFiler Kit primarily applies to
the U.S. forensic community, other countries follow the FBI’s guidance.

As global forensic databases expand, standardization is crucial to
ensure fast, accurate and efficient DNA sample comparisons. To date, 46
countries have implemented criminal offender DNA database programs with
a combined offender sample pool of 50 million and growing. The Life
Technologies GlobalFiler Express Kit received
approval soon after its release in 2012 based on data also submitted
by the ADFS. Thermo Fisher Scientific is the only company to receive FBI
approval for the solution’s six-dye chemistry, which is designed for
maximum information recovery. It also facilitates amplification of
challenging samples, such as degraded human remains.

“As a trusted partner to forensic labs globally, we know that turnaround
time, information recovery and cost efficiency are critically important
to our customers,” said Nadia Altomare, vice president and general
manager, Human Identification, for Thermo Fisher Scientific. “That’s why
the GlobalFiler chemistry has been designed to maximize profile
information from the most challenging casework samples in a timely
manner. Now with NDIS approval, the solution further expedites powerful
data matching capabilities to help solve crimes.”

For more than 25 years, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Life Technologies
innovations have enabled scientists to maximize their use of DNA to
establish identity and solve crimes. Today, the company offers the most
robust, reliable, and trusted forensic solutions for human
identification (HID) testing under the Applied Biosystems brand—and it
is the only company that designs and validates its reagents,
instruments, and data analysis software together as an integrated system
for HID testing.